Can an emoji make a successful crowdfunding campaign?

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)—The day is near when you can use an emoji to contribute to a crowdfunding campaign for a water bike.

Starting later this month, users of the messaging app NextPlus will be able to select the waterbike emoji, which will lead them to Schiller Bikes’ Kickstarter campaign page. The use of the branded emojis for crowdfunding purposes is a new step to get the word out for crowdfunding campaigns, which often depend on the momentum of word-of-mouth for funding.

Michael Africk, CEO of Inmoji, Inc., which creates the branded emojis and brings the software to the messaging apps, says use of these “super powered” images makes sense for companies as texters keep returning to their emoji library throughout the day.

“That smiley face button is clicked billions of times a day,” Africk said.

Inmoji, Inc.

The Schiller Bikes emoji.

The emoji will be in the NextPlus emoji library and users can chose to donate and share the emoji with other users. NextPlus is the new version of the TextPlus app which has more than 80 million registered users, according to a spokesperson.

This will be Inmoji’s first partnership with an app to go live and it expects to launch to consumers with this app.

The move to emojis also appealed to Judah Schiller, founder and CEO of Schiller Bikes and the father of three children who like emojis.

The bike is the second iteration of a water bike for Schiller, who said he’s looking to use the Kickstarter proceeds to scale manufacturing for a more consumer-friendly model. The first bike was more custom-made and cost either $8,775 or $6,495, compared with the Kickstarter price point of $3,950.

The bike is about 70 pounds and everything but the frame can be folded up into a bag. To get it ready for the water, bikers inflate the pontoons on the side of the bike and attach the other components.

This is Schiller’s first Kickstarter campaign and he said he believes the emoji will be key to funding.

“We have really high expectations,” he said.

But why a water bike rather than biking on land, or say, taking a paddle boat out?

Schiller says the water bike allows users to take a break and stand up. And unlike traditional biking, these bikers aren’t avoiding cars or potholes.

“You don’t have to worry about much when you’re on the water biking,” he said.

Caitlin
Huston

Caitlin Huston is a MarketWatch reporter based in New York. She covers startups and small business. You can follow her on Twitter @hustonca.

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